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Former Boynton CRA boss seeks back pay, benefits

Former Boynton CRA boss seeks back pay, benefits

Since she was bounced as head of the Community Redevelopment Agency a year ago, Lisa Bright has been unable to find work, she says in recent court filings.

"Because of the false allegations made by the mayor and or his proxies, which were reported in the media, I believe that my reputation has been tarnished," Bright wrote Sept. 11, answering questions from CRA lawyers.

Bright said she's demanding back pay, vacation, pension and benefits, dating back to Sept. 30, the day the CRA board voted not to renew her contract.

She said she suffered "mental anguish" near the end of her time at the CRA, and depression after she left.

She said she lost sleep and appetite and relived the alleged acts of the mayor and "his cronies."

She also said she worried "about my ability to support self and my insulin-dependent daughter, then in college. It has been very expensive since I lost my health-care coverage."

In a document filed Sept. 14, the CRA denied Bright's claims and posited what likely will be the crux of their case: Bright wasn't fired; the CRA just didn't renew her contract.

The CRA also said Bright's suit "is barred by the doctrine of unclean hands." That's the idea that a plaintiff allegedly also did improper acts.

And it said her leaving had nothing to do with "the allegedly nefarious motivations" of Mayor José Rodriguez and others.

Bright has claimed Rodriguez orchestrated her departure in retaliation for her "rejecting his sexual advances" and reporting him to police.

Her lawsuit, filed in March, said that in 2006, then-Commissioner Rodriguez "forcibly kissed" Bright during a dinner meeting. It said he also manhandled her and shouted at her at a 2008 workshop.

It said Rodriguez also wanted her out so he could retain control of the CRA and block creation of an independent board.

That idea later was dropped and two outside members were added to the board, which is composed of commissioners.

Bright was hired in June 2005. Her base salary was $128,125.

Commissioners voted in September 2010 not to renew her contract after a private investigator reviewing her connection with Joseph Ferrer, a CRA entertainment vendor, concluded she hadn't told the board about it.

The Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office later declined to criminally pursue Bright, saying it found "no credible evidence" she benefited from her relationship.